Chapter 121: Underground Pursuit

The massive monster before them was like a human transformed into a ferocious beast, magnified countless times over.

It was as if a multitude of thick steel bars had been twisted together and stuffed into its frame; its muscles were knotted in explosive, ropy masses, its limbs were thicker than an elephant's legs, its chest was heavy and prominently arched, and its feet were as wide and thick as millstones—every feature served to display the terrifying power contained within that physique.

Standing before the Champion Victor, the burly, bear-like man seemed like a small, stunted child, his height barely reaching the monster's knees. Even though the alchemist’s underground laboratory was spacious with a soaring dome, it felt cramped and suffocating in the presence of the gargantuan Champion Victor. It was a fortress of muscle, a ferocious behemoth.

When Champion Victor was still human, his prowess was enough to crush any Tracker; his true opponents had never been Trackers, but giant, steel-forged automata. He had been capable of tearing those giant dolls to pieces with his bare hands on the arena floor, winning endless flowers, applause, and adoration. Now that he had been transformed into such a terrifying giant, his strength had likely increased many times over.

Champion Victor opened his massive maw and let out a roar that shook the underground laboratory, unleashing a gale of howling wind. The deafening sonic wave swept across the chamber like a blast of air, sending shattered glass and papers flying. It caused eardrums to ache violently, vision to blacken, and heads to ring with a persistent, buzzing echo.

The White Bear tilted his head back, staring blankly at those two eyes filled with endless madness. His legs trembled uncontrollably, his entire body shivering, his gaze wide with terror.

Champion Victor bared his teeth in a hideous grin, his muscles bulging, and he brought his massive fist crashing down. It sounded like a thunderclap striking the earth, the very air exploding from the impact. A wild wind whipped through the underground lab, howling in the ears as if it meant to tear everyone away. In the eyes of the White Bear, it seemed as if the laboratory’s entire dome had collapsed in an instant; that descending fist was not merely a limb—it was the sky falling. He had no chance to dodge; the shadow of that giant fist completely engulfed him.

The White Bear let out a frantic roar, raised his weapon, and dug his feet into the ground, exerting every ounce of his strength to resist the terrifying blow.

"BOOM!"

The ground seemed to sink significantly, followed by an earthquake. Brick and stone sprayed outward, spiderweb cracks spread across the floor, and a massive crater suddenly opened up. Champion Victor lifted his fist, from which viscous blood, mangled flesh, and shattered bone dripped. Inside the crater, there was no longer any sign of the White Bear, only a sticky mass of gore, as if a juicy watermelon had been crushed to a pulp.

With a single strike, it had ground the strongest and burliest of the Trackers into nothingness, pulverizing the sturdy wall that had served as their vanguard. Even with the White Bear exerting his full strength to block, he had been ground into slag without the slightest capacity to resist.

At this moment, the remaining Trackers felt nothing but bone-chilling cold and terror. In an instant, the Leopard, without a word, was the first to bolt, sprinting toward the laboratory exit.

Escape! Escape was the only thought remaining in his mind.

When Champion Victor was still a Tracker, he had already left an impression of invincibility. Now that he had transformed into an even more powerful and ferocious monster, and with the White Bear unable to withstand even a single punch before becoming a slurry of blood and meat, the Leopard could no longer summon the will to resist.

The Leopard’s flight triggered a chain reaction, like toppling dominoes. Their battle formation shattered instantly; seeing the Leopard run, whatever courage the other Trackers had left evaporated. They no longer cared about formations or commands, following the Leopard one by one in a desperate retreat.

"Boss Black Rabbit, run! Champion Victor is too terrifying!"

Even the usually brave and fearless Lion, his eyes filled with dread, shouted this as he turned and fled without looking back. Facing the Giant Spider Pope, while the enemy was strong, they were not unbeatable; the Lion and the White Bear, acting as front-line meat shields, could at least block attacks and draw fire for the others. But Champion Victor was simply too powerful and too horrific. The White Bear hadn't just been critically injured by a single blow; he had been pulverized into paste without a chance to fight back.

Such a vast disparity in strength left the Trackers with no hope of victory. Only by running was there a slim chance of survival; to stay and fight would only lead to the same fate as the White Bear.

Li Nanke’s keen sense of crisis had long prepared him for the enemy's strength. Champion Victor was, without a doubt, the most powerful monster he had encountered thus far—a monster that required a head-on, no-frills confrontation. He knew that he could kill the White Bear in one strike using 'Flame Waterfall,' but without resorting to his ultimate techniques, he certainly could not have done it in a single blow. The enemy’s strength far exceeded his own; the odds of winning this battle were too slim.

"The difficulty of this hidden node is truly immense," he muttered, tilting his head slightly to look at the terrifying, looming shadow nearby. "Run... but can you really escape? Only by fighting without fear of death is there a glimmer of hope."

Defeat, once it begins, is like a mountain collapsing. Once the formation broke and the only thing on their minds was flight, no amount of command would help. Even if he were to harden his heart and kill the Leopard for leading the retreat, it wouldn't stop the others from breaking.

Champion Victor’s focus was not on Li Nanke; his mad gaze was fixed on the fleeing Trackers. In his eyes, these tiny ants were the prey that had awakened him from his slumber. How could he possibly let them escape?

Champion Victor gave a hideous grin, then crouched, posture set for a running jump. The muscles in his thick thighs bulged, and dark blue veins rose like giant pythons. Suddenly, the ground shook and vibrated as if a series of muffled thunderclaps had detonated. The terrifying figure shot forward like a rocket, the air compressing with a whistle akin to a train’s steam whistle.

The Leopard, who had fled first, was about to reach the door of the massive laboratory. But the monstrous figure was faster; in a few breaths, leaping repeatedly—each landing and takeoff sounding like an earthquake and a sonic boom—it arrived at the laboratory entrance in the blink of an eye.

Champion Victor’s massive body completely blocked the door, leaving not a sliver of space for anyone to slip through, snuffing out their only hope of escape. He lowered his head slightly, peering down at the Trackers, his eyes burning with a mad, murderous intent.

The Leopard backed away repeatedly, distancing himself from the giant monster, his face pale with terror. Seeing this, the other Trackers fell into despair, realizing that they were unlikely to survive the day. Yet, even ants cling to life, and the human will to survive is incredibly strong. They were not helpless ordinary people, but Transcendents who could use Self-Prime to fight. Facing a near-death situation, at the brink of life and death, if they couldn't run, they had no choice but to fight for their lives!

"Boss Black Rabbit!"

Only now did the Leopard think of Li Nanke, relying on their strongest leader to orchestrate a chance at survival. But as he turned his head, he found that Boss Black Rabbit was gone!

"Where is the Boss?"

The other Trackers followed the Leopard's gaze, only to see that the spot in the center of the lab where Black Rabbit had been standing was now empty. He had vanished.

"BOOM!"

The Leopard jolted as a violent gust of wind struck from above. Without time to think, he subconsciously stomped his foot to dodge to the side. But his reaction was too slow; even just being grazed by that giant fist, the Leopard felt as if he had been struck by ten giant automata simultaneously. Like a kite with a broken string, he went flying backward. He spat blood while still in mid-air, struggled to stand after landing, and finally collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Form up! If we don't fight to the death now, we're all going to die!"

The Lion, seeing this, ground his teeth until they cracked, roaring as he commanded the others to make a desperate stand...

Ignoring the death throes of the Trackers, the moment they broke and fled, Li Nanke had mentally written them off as expendable pawns to buy him time. Even seeing that they had summoned the courage to fight and needed his command, he could not change their fate as fodder. Li Nanke knew all too well that if even a sliver of hope for escape appeared, these mercenaries would abandon everything to run again. They were only fighting now because they had no other choice. It was better to let them be consumables to complete his hidden node.

Li Nanke did not follow them. The moment Champion Victor went after the others, he dove deeper into the laboratory, running in the opposite direction toward the next chamber. He could feel that mad gaze sweep toward him for a split second, but Champion Victor did not stop him, continuing instead to hunt the Trackers. Perhaps, compared to him alone, the large group of Trackers were more valuable prey. Or, more likely, there was only one exit to the underground laboratory. By going deeper, he was trapped with no way out; he would die by the monster's hand sooner or later, so Champion Victor had no need to concern himself with his flight.

As he ran, the wind whistled in his ears. Li Nanke’s 'Dynamic Protective Armor' shimmered into existence. The external space thrusters on the back of the armor flared with azure flames, making his speed even more rapid. He knew his time was extremely limited; without his participation to lead the Trackers against the enemy, they could delay the monster for at most two or three minutes. Each time he entered a new lab, he could only glance briefly; seeing nothing like a complete notebook, he immediately moved to the next.

Finally, he stopped.

The laboratory before him was unusually wide, filled with several large experimental tables scattered with strange instruments and tools—the equipment of an alchemist. The walls were lined with cabinets filled with objects, and there were no other exits. This was clearly the last laboratory in the church basement.

Li Nanke scanned the room. The tables held no notebooks. The interior was complex, with dozens of cabinets; even if the notebook were hidden here, he couldn't find it in such a short time.

"There's no way to cheat or skip this; I must defeat Champion Victor."

He knew that only by thoroughly eliminating the monster would he have enough time to search the underground lab, find the alchemist’s notes, and complete the hidden node. But Champion Victor’s combat power was too terrifying; even if he gave it his all, the probability of winning was less than ten percent. It was even possible that after the enemy finished off the Trackers, escaping from the monster would be an impossible task.

Li Nanke kept his expression grim as he began to frantically tear through the cabinets. The alchemists must have left in quite a hurry, as many precious instruments remained. Even so, they had taken most of the valuable documents, leaving behind only scattered scraps and notes. No complete notebook or book was visible in the entire room.

The locks on the cabinets were no obstacle for Li Nanke; he smashed the doors with a single punch and rummaged through the contents. He checked five or six cabinets, yet found nothing. Time ticked away by the second, his expression remaining calm, but the growing sense of crisis in his heart warned him that his time was running out!

"Damn it!"

Li Nanke smashed another cabinet, sending debris flying. "Maybe the alchemist's notebook isn't hidden here at all, but in one of the previous labs, and I just didn't have time to search thoroughly."

Li Nanke flipped his wrist, and the Bloody Warhammer appeared in his hand. His gaze was cold; he realized he couldn't find the notebook before Champion Victor arrived. He had to give up the search and find a way to escape the underground lab. The enemy's power was such that, let alone a direct fight, simply surviving an encounter was an extremely difficult challenge.

Li Nanke, carrying the Bloody Warhammer, walked toward the lab entrance. Just as he was about to head back the way he came, he suddenly stopped.

He felt a sudden intuition. His gaze sharpened, and he turned abruptly toward the corner of the lab. A sapphire-blue butterfly fluttered its wings, leaving a trail of stardust in the air. The butterfly, formed entirely from Self-Prime, circled, and soon landed on an inconspicuous cabinet, flapping its two pairs of scales. This inexplicable butterfly of Self-Prime was identical to the one that had awakened Pinocchio.

Li Nanke's eyes flickered, various thoughts racing through his mind, and he immediately went to the cabinet. He smashed the door open, pushed aside a pile of debris, and saw a black notebook pressed at the very bottom. On the leather cover was stamped the pattern of the "Sacred Ouroboros"—it was the notebook left behind by the alchemist!

"Finally found you!"

Li Nanke’s expression was complex. Before he could even check the contents, his ears twitched, and he looked toward the lab door. A terrified figure ran in, stumbling blindly into the last laboratory. The figure’s face was filled with panic, his lips and clothes stained with blood, his body tattered, his skin covered in severe abrasions and raw, bloody flesh.

"Boss Black Rabbit, why are you here?" The Leopard’s expression was shocked, and then, after scanning the room and realizing there was no other exit, he wailed in despair: "Boss, they're all dead!"

"Champion Victor is coming!"